Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines
by vampirenovels
Summary: Derek Williams is cast into this life of darkness as a newly embraced Kindred, trying to fit in. Along this journey he encounters key individuals that will either help him in the long run... or put an end to his undead life.
1. Chapter 1

This story is my own creative version and storyline for the game "Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines" using a main character of my own idea. Note: I have made slight changes to some of the recognized game characters in the story.

**00.30 hrs**

It was a rainy night and I was glad to be indoors right now, with the company I had. I wished I had managed to clean up the apartment a bit if I had known I was going to have a guest, but then again I didn't expect to bring anyone back here. The apartment itself only had one word to describe it: _shite_. Bottles of beer all over the floor, dust which hadn't been cleared up in a while and walls painted in a dirty beige colour that had areas pealing away. As the old saying goes; _you get what you pay for_. I'm just glad the beautiful redhead I met, just a few hours ago, didn't mind it. She was very pale and her skin was quite cold and her eyes were the strangest colour of brown I'd ever seen before in my life.

We both lay bare on the bed with the quilt only covering us up to our waist. I kissed her neck and then moved up to her lips, she gripped tightly on my back as the climax passed and she took a deep breath. I however was absolutely drained. I lay on my back with my head facing the ceiling; my eyes were slowly shutting as I listened to the ongoing beat of my heart. There was sweat all over my forehead so I wiped it off with my left arm. I took deep endless breaths as I waited for my heart to calm. Little did I know, the redhead was slowly bringing her head closer to my neck.

'I wanna show you something,' she whispered.

Then… everything went dark. It felt as though my life was slowly fading from my body. I didn't know what she did but something just left me drained and lifeless. I could feel my heart slowly stopping and my mind entering a void I saw no end to. _What the fuck just happened_, I asked myself.

I wasn't sure how long I'd been unconscious, but when I opened my eyes and looked around I swore I had been dreaming. I sat up slowly, rubbing my forehead with my left hand; I then noticed the feel of something dripping down my neck. Instantly I checked my neck and felt something oozing out of two holes. Then when I looked at my hand I saw blood. I noticed a figure sat in the chair just in front of the bed. The redhead was sat, in her underwear, with both her arms spread across the chair and a devilish smirk on her face. In that smirk I saw something I couldn't believe was real: fangs. They were white as ice and sharp like a razor. I didn't want to say it but I was now certain she was a vampire.

Just moments after I noticed the fangs a sudden force kicked open my door and in came an unknown male. The man threw something at the girl's chest. A stake! It didn't kill her from the looks of it but just before I could react, a second male entered the room and pierced a stake through my heart. I fell unconscious once more, but at least this time I knew I wasn't dead.

When I awoke the second time I found myself on my knees, still bare, with my hands tied to my back. My vision was blurry and all I could see was the stake being removed from my chest. I looked and I saw no mark or hole from the stake. What had I become I wondered.

As my vision cleared up a bit I saw row upon row of chairs. _A theatre?_ I asked myself. Sat in the chairs was an audience, at least over two dozen, all staring at me. I turned my head to the right and saw the redhead. She too was on her knees with her hands tied; still only dressed in her underwear. I then heard the sound of two pairs of footsteps approaching from backstage.

'Good evening,' said a tall blonde haired man in a black suit, wearing a grey shirt and black tie. Beside him walked a large man, carrying a massive blade on his back. The man's face was gruesome and his eyes were bright red.

The man in the suit stood in the centre of the stage.

'My fellow Kindred,' he began, 'my apologies for interfering in any business, or disrupting any affairs you may have had this evening. It's unfortunate that the affair that gathers here tonight is a troubling one. We are here because the laws of our society have, unfortunately, been broken.'

I looked over and saw the redhead lowering her head with shame, but then one of the males' lifted her head up by the back of the neck.

'It pains me to announce the sentence,' said the man in the suit, 'as up to tonight, I consider the accused a loyal and upstanding member of our organization. They were caught shortly after the embrace of this childe. But the penalty for this… is death. Less we endanger all of our blood.' He then went up to the redhead and caressed her left cheek. 'Forgive me… let the penalty commence.'

The tall man pulled out the blade and aligned it with her neck. As I turned my head slightly to the left, unable to watch, I saw a woman sat in one of the chairs. She had bright red hair, red lipstick, pale skin and wore a brown jacket. She covered the view with her left hand and just as she turned her eyes she made contact with me. I looked at her until I heard the blade slash against her neck and in an instant I saw her body burn to ashes on the stage. Looking around I could see that even some of the others had a look of disgust on their faces.

'And now for the childe. Without a sire, most are doomed never knowing their place. Therefore, I have decided—'

'THIS IS BULLSHIT!' cried a member of the audience.

The man was dressed in black jeans, a white vest and blue short-sleeved shirt with the buttons undone. He had short black hair, a moustache and goatee. Two other members sat next to him were holding him back. Chatter began amongst the audience and very soon I noticed all of them standing up in my defense. When I turned my eyes to the man in the suit, he just stared back at the man in blue shirt.

'If Mister Rodriguez would let me finish… I have decided to let this Kindred live.' I sighed in relief. 'He shall be instructed in the ways of our kind and be granted the same rights.'

Rodriguez and his lot started leaving the theatre, walking to the entrance. As I looked back at the other redhead, she smiled at me. In return I smiled back just before the rope was cut and my hands were set free.

'I thank you all for attending these proceeding, and I hope their significance is not lost. Good evening.'

Moments after that, the curtains closed and I was helped onto my feet. One of the men handed me a bag filled with my clothes from the apartment. At least I had clothes my size to change into.

'Go get changed in the bathroom,' he said. 'We'll lead you.'

I was then lead to the backstage area and directed to the restroom. Once inside I slipped into the black jeans, blue shirt, purple blazer and pair of trainers I wore earlier ago. I walked up to the sink and ran the tap, splashing some water on my face. I felt more relaxed now, even though I was now involved in something bigger than anything I could ever imagine. However, when I looked up into the mirror, to my horror I saw my reflection had gone. I was now… a vampire.

Just then, there was a bang at the door.

'You done?' said the guy.

'Yeah, yeah… give me a minute,' I said.

I gripped down hard on the sink with all my strength, not knowing I had actually just cracked the sides of it. I let go and sighed. After that I walked out of the restroom and saw the man in the suit approach me – thankfully without his executioner.

'Your sire, tragic, my deepest apologies. Your name is?'

'Derek… Derek Williams.'

'Mr. Williams, I am Sebastian LaCroix, prince of the Camarilla. Now as for your sire, you see… there is a strict code of conduct that all of us must… must, at hear to, if we wish to survive.'

'So you leave me with no answers to what I've become?'

'Again, my apologies but in order to prevent any danger to the rest of our blood, there must be server consequences to those who break the law. Understand my, predicament.' The prince then walked off so I followed him. 'Allowing you to live makes me directly responsible for your behavior. So, what I'm offering is the opportunity to transcend the fate, woven by your sire.'

'Very well,' I said.

We then approached a corridor and at the end was a backdoor. LaCriox stopped as we arrived at the door and turned round to face me.

'This is your trial; you will be brought to Santa Monica, there you will meet an agent named Mercurio. He will provide you with your instructions.'

'Fare enough.'

I took a step forward but then LaCriox put his hand to my shoulder, stopping me.

'But know this. I have shown you great clemency. Prove it was more than a wasted jester, fledgling. Don't come back, until you do. Good evening.'

LaCriox began walking back to the stage so I grabbed the handle and opened the door. Once outside I walked down the steps and took a deep breath. Just then I realized something was in my blazer pocket: my cigarettes. I took one out and tried to light it up, but the lighter wasn't working. Then, out of nowhere, a lighter appeared under my cigarette so I turned my head left in an instant. There was a man leaning against the wall.

'What a scene man! Hoo-wee!' he said with a big chuckle.

He had black hair with a long black beard, dressed in a pair of black pants, black boots and just a black vest that showed the majority of his chest hair.

'Here, let me light that up for you.'

I analyzed him for a moment, wondering if I should trust him. I decide to just go with it, so I covered the lighter with both hands until the tip of my cigarette lit up and then took a puff out of it.

'So who are you?'

'I'm Jack, what's important is I'm willing to help you.'

'Really?'

'Yeah, you get your hide back from Santa Monica, and we'll trade life stories. Until then, I got about this much time, OK? You in or out?'

I shrugged my shoulders.

'Why not, I could use the help for this fucked up life.'

'Hey, kid, I know this is a lot to take in, but trust me, the life of an undead vampire is a lot better than a weak, fragile human.'

'Believe that when I see it,' I said.

Jack chuckled.

'I like you kid, and trust me… you'll be grateful I helped you. Some of the other Kindred might not be so, helping, if you know what I mean?'

'Kindred?'

'Ah! Kindred is, err… well, it's our word for vampire, OK?'

'OK.'

I suddenly felt weak and my head began to ach.

'You look wobbly kid. You even had a drink yet?'

'Huh? Drink of… drink of what?' I said feeling a bit faint.

'Oh man! We're popping a cherry here. OK, I'll put it this way… blood, it's your new rack'a lamb, your new champagne – blood's your new fuckin' heroin, kid!'

Jacked gave another chuckle.

'Makes sense, I guess,' I said. 'So what do I do?'

'Well, down around the other alley I saw this human – poor SOB can't find his car, heh, heh.'

'So you want me to kill him?'

'Ah, ah! You feed off him, not kill, understand? The whole point of being a vampire is not leaving a trail of bodies around for people to get too suspicious.'

'Understandable. So I just go up to the guy and—'

'Bear those little fangs on him and get off him what you can – just don't drain him, even if you don't get much off him, never kill 'em.'

'All right, then I'll be off then.'

I turned round and walked down the back of the theatre to the alley. My hand was beginning to shake as I took a puff out of my cigarette, too deep in thought of what I was about to do. In my mind I kept asking: _why me, for God's sake?_ I moved from the UK here to find a better life… not literally the end of it. Jack was still watching me until I turned right and went down the alley. The human was directly in sight in a dark corner. There was no light, nor people in sight, so I put out my cigarette, took a deep breath and approached the man. Aside from being lost, he also seemed to be intoxicated with alcohol and no wonder; there was a party going on in the floor above us. Guess that explained where he just came from. He was on the verge of passing out, which I thought would be better than having to force myself on the guy. The man slowly walked towards the wall on his left and started undoing his zipper, desperate for a piss. _Now's my chance_, I thought.

I walked up to the guy as quietly as I could, praying he wouldn't turn round. Judging from how much he had to drink I reckoned he be a while before finishing his piss. So without hesitation I grabbed the guy from behind, held both his shoulders and dug my head in his neck, digging my fangs into him until I felt the warm liquid run down my throat. He yelped so I covered his mouth with my left hand and continued to feed. I couldn't believe how satisfying the taste of his blood was, I almost didn't want to stop and drain him dry – but I couldn't. As soon as I reckoned I had enough, I pulled my fangs away from his neck and gently lowered him to the ground, laying him on his side I took a few steps back. He was still breathing so at least I hadn't taken too much. Is this what it felt like to drink someone's blood, I wondered. The very sensation of the blood coursing down my throat gave me the feeling of satisfaction, but there was also that feeling of a cold shiver going through my body.

I was damned and that was that.

When I returned to Jack he was leaning up against the other wall on the right, standing beside the back entrance of the building. The moment he saw me I could see it in his eyes he knew what I felt when I drank from that human. His smirk said it all.

'Yeah I can see it in your eyes, kid, you're a born-again predator. Feel that blood bubbling inside you? That's what it's all about.'

'But do I really have to spend the rest of my existence doing that, just to survive?'

'Kid, a vampire's a vampire. You don't drink that undead life of yours is gonna turn into some a lot worse.'

I gave a gentle chuckle.

'Like what?'

'The Beast,' Jack replied.

'What's the "Beast"?'

'The Beast… is a vicious animal, living under your skin. When you start holding back on blood, that animal is gonna take over your entire body and mind, going on a rampage, killing everything and anything in its path, searching for blood.'

'Is it that bad?'

'Bad enough that vampires who break the masquerade by going wild get put down by the Sherriff, like your sire back there.'

'You mean that big ape with the blade?'

'Yep. He's LaCroix's… bodyguard. Don't know where he found him, but he sure knows how to make a mess out of things.'

'I'll keep that in mind.'

'OK then, now—' just then there was a massive explosion in the background. Jack hissed. 'What the fuck is this?'

'You tell me, mate?'

'Look we gotta get outta here, follow me into this building and keep quiet, OK kid?'

'No problem.'

Jack kicked opened the door next to him which lead to a mechanics garage. I closed the door behind us and looked around. The place was filled with very little tools, equipment or even cars for that matter. We saw some stairs that lead up to the first floor of the building. Jack led the way so I followed from behind. At the top of the stairs was a small corridor, with two big windows on the right, that turned left at the end of it. Jack went on ahead and then waved his hand back for me to stop.

'Watch it, kid. Stay away from the windows.'

'What's going on?' I asked.

'Urgh… it's a Sabbat raid.'

'"_Sabbat_"?'

'The Sabbat, they're, err… Christ… well, they're mostly mindless, bloodthirsty assholes, that's all you need to know about 'em.'

'I see… and these guys are the bad guys?'

'Well, none of us are actually good guys here, but basically you just don't wanna be on the side of some shovelhead, if you know what I'm sayin'?'

'Uh-huh… and what do you think they want, here?'

Jack cleared his throat.

'Well… from what I can assume, they got word of the gathering here and figured they'd rain a little hell on the new, prince.'

'And I take it you don't like LaCroix?'

'Kid, that's a long story I'd tell you another time. Right now we gotta focus on getting the hell outta here before some Sabbat find out we're here.'

'OK, so what's our next—'

'Shh, shh, heads up, back away,' Jack said looking through the window.

Three males were just approaching the back entrance of the theatre. Two carried Uzis on them and the third one moved like some animal, with long arms and sharp nails. Just as he stood in the centre of the two, a few feet away from them, he hauled like a dog at the moon. I could see the Sheriff entering the alley from the back. One of the Sabbat fired his weapon into the air and then started shooting at the Sherrif, as the other one began to fire also. The Sherrif raised his arm and out of nowhere, two gigantic, white glowing wolves appeared from behind and attacked the Sabbat. When the howling one realized what had happened he made a dash for the Sheriff. The Sheriff placed his hand to his mouth, blew something and then a cloud of burning smoke surrounded the third Sabbat, turning him into ash shortly after. The Sheriff turned his head to the left, looking up at the window, he saw me poking my head through. He then turned round and went back inside the theatre, closing the door behind him.

Honestly, I couldn't believe what I had just seen. I wondered if this is the type of thing I would eventually come up against as a vampire.

'Dumb, frenzy Sabbat bastards,' said Jack.

'Well, that sure was something,' I said.

'Yeah, well compared to how going up against a full pack of 'em is, you really don't wanna be around to watch.'

'Noted.'

'All right, let's go kid.'

We continued down the corridor and turned left, only to arrive at a locked door. _Oh Shite_, I thought to myself. Then, out of nowhere, Jack handed me a lock pick. 'That should come pretty handy in time,' he said. I took the lock pick and tried to pick the lock on the door. Once I felt all the pins rise I opened the door and placed the lock pick in my pocket. The room was a basic office with a computer on a desk, a sofa and some cabinets filled with files and stuff. On the right of the room was a door with stairs that led down to the alley. Jack opened the door and in an instant he was thrown to the ground by a Sabbat. I rush out to help and before I could react a Sabbat hit me if a bat, dropping me to the ground. The Sabbat pinned me down, trying to go for my neck with its sharp fangs. I felt like a wild dog was on top of me trying to chew out my face. The demon's face was vicious and bloodthirsty; I could see in his eyes the thirst he had for my blood. I was using every bit of strength in me to hold him off that I couldn't see what was happening to Jack. In the back of my mind I was hoping they hadn't killed him. I couldn't hear anything from his direction and I was almost certain he was dead, until I suddenly felt the weight of the Sabbat lift from me and saw Jack with a smirk on his face. He picked up the Sabbat, took out a blade from his pocket and stabbed him in the throat, then used his left knee to break the guy's back and dropped him to the floor.

Jack went up to me and offered his hand to help me up. I took it and stood up from the floor.

'Fuckin' waste of unlife these Sabbat vatos! You OK kid?'

'Yeah… yeah I'm fine. Just a bit shaky, is all. I thought that bloke was going to rip my bloody throat out.'

'Don't worry kid, most of these Sabbat aren't entirely strong or capable of doing anything other than make a lot of noise and break public property. Think of them as smalltime thugs with nothing better to do.'

'Yeah, well then I don't want to be around the next time they feel like having a go for my neck.'

Jack chuckled.

'As long as you know how to handle yourself out there, kid, you'll be fine.'

'OK.'

'Now let's get out of this alley and get you to your cab. The Prince is gonna want you in Santa Monica as quickly as possible for what he's got lined up.'

'Whoop de doo,' I said very sarcastically.

'C'mon kid,' said Jack as he placed his arm round my shoulder and walked me down the alley.

We cut through an alley on our right which led us to the street. The street was pretty empty and it had just begun to rain. We heard a car horn to our left and saw a taxi waiting to take me. I turned to face Jack and say my goodbyes but he was gone. I smiled to myself and took out my pack of cigarettes as I walked towards the taxi. This pretty much marked the beginning of my nights as a vampire, so I figured I'd light up a cigarette in celebration of surviving my first income with the Sabbat. I just wondered what I was going to encounter next.


	2. Chapter 2

This story is my own creative version and storyline for the game "Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines" using a main character of my own idea. Note: I have made slight changes to some of the recognized game characters in the story.

**Night 1**

**Santa Monica**

**11.00 hrs**

I arrived at my haven in the early morning at five O'clock, just in time to get indoors before sunrise. Since then I remained indoors, blinds shut and two packs of cigarettes to last me until the evening. Right now I didn't really give a shite about my health so I could've smoked a whole carton if I wanted to, but that would've made my neighbors' complain and run the risk of getting into trouble. The fridge was filled with blood packs, nicely provided by the prince. He mentioned if I needed to refill on blood packs there was a hospital just across from my apartment with a blood bank run by the Santa Monica baron – whoever that was. I also had a laptop provided by the agent I was to meet here: Mercurio. On the desk there was a letter he left, it had the password to my computer which was "_sunrise_" and he mentioned there was also an envelope in the drawer filled with $100. I logged in and checked my emails; there was only one from him. He gave me his address and a brief explanation of my task which was to blow up a warehouse run by the Sabbat. First I needed to meet him in his apartment, pick up the explosives and then he'd give me further instructions on what else I needed to do.

I slipped on my blazer, placed the money into my wallet and then walked out of the apartment and closed the door behind me. The moment I stepped out into the street a homeless person was sat in the corner, drinking from a bottle that he had placed inside a brown paper bag. He smelt as bad as anything but when he asked me for some change, I thought I might as well do something nice for the poor guy.

'Here's $2 mate, it's not much but I hope it helps.'

He took the two dollars from my hand and smiled at me with a joyful look in his aged eyes.

'That's very nice, thank you.'

I smiled back and walked down the corner until I was in the main street. Just as I stepped onto the pavement I saw a man who looked badly hurt enter the Santa Monica Suites where I was supposed to meet Mercurio. _Is that poor bastard him?_ I asked myself. I rushed over to the apartments and opened the door, just in time to see the guy leaning against the wall with blood dripping from him. He was about to fall to the floor but I placed my arm around him and helped him up.

'Mate, are you OK?' I asked.

'Yeah, yeah, I… urgh! God, that hurts.'

'Let me take you to your apartment, which one is it?'

'It's number 4,' he said.

Yeah this guy was definitely Mercurio, which meant I had to take care of him before continuing with my mission. We arrived at his door and he took out his key. I took the key with my right hand and unlocked the door. Once inside I laid him down on the sofa and closed the door. I went over to the bathroom to get some towels and a flannel and then I went to get some tissue paper from the kitchen. I helped him undress out of his jacket and shirt, placed the towels under him so as not to stain the sofa and then I took a look at his injuries. They looked pretty bad but nothing I couldn't handle. I filled up a bucket with some water, dipped the flannel into the water and began to gently press on his injuries.

'This is gonna hurt a bit, mate.'

'Meh… I've been through worse.'

I dabbed the flannel and cleared some of the blood away. Mercurio groaned a bit to the pain but it was nothing too serious. I then got some tissues and dried up the injuries a bit.

'So I take it you're Mercurio then?'

'Yeah… you the kid I'm suppose to help out?'

'Uh-huh. Said you had some explosives I needed to use.'

'Ah fuck… kid, sorry, but the whole fucking reason I'm in this state is cos the pricks I tried to get the bomb from got greedy and decided to beat me to a pulp. They took my money and everything. That fucking cocksucker, Dennis!'

I sighed.

'Then I better go and get it back. Where do they live?'

'Those smalltime sons of bitches live out in a little dump by the pier. I'd be careful if I were you, they ain't too hesitant about crippling anyone they think is trouble.'

'I'll bare that in mind.'

The blood was all cleared up but I could tell he was still in agonizing pain.

'I've done what I can, but is there anything else you want me to do?'

'Yeah if you could get something for the pain, I'd really appreciate it.'

I took one of the towels and started drying my hands with it.

'All right, I'll do what I can. Hang in there; I'll be back in a while.'

I left the apartment and headed over to the hospital. Once inside I walked up to the reception. There was a young nurse, with blonde hair and a pretty smile, sat in her chair.

'Hello there sweetheart, listen I need to get something for a friend, he's in real pain.'

The woman started thinking for a minute.

'You might wanna try some painkillers. There should be some in the back, just go on through and if anyone stops you just tell them I let you through.'

'All right, thank you love,' I said with a smile.

'Any time handsome,' replied the nurse, smiling back.

I walked down the corridor and then all of a sudden a door on my left instantly burst open and out ran a doctor, covered in blood on his gown. He shouted something and I was sure he said "_critical condition_" or something. I looked in the room and saw a young girl, possibly early twenties, lying on her back on a gurney. She had short brown hair, black jeans, a yellow top and wore spectacles. Her chest area was covered in blood and her face had blood smears all over it. She looked at me with a sad dying look in her eyes; I saw tears dripping from them. She held her hand out to me.

'Please… hel, help me… please,' she said in a soft voice.

_Fuck it!_ I thought to myself. I wasn't going to leave her here to die. I walked into the room and closed the door behind me. I looked around for something sharp; there was a surgical blade on a table. I took it in my hand, rolled up my left sleeve and cut a small hole around my wrist. I placed my wrist over her face and let the blood drop into her mouth, but the girl then took my hand with her left one and pressed it down. After a while I removed my hand and the girl started breathing again, as if she hadn't in years. The expression on her face had more life now than it did thirty seconds ago. I started rolling down my sleeve and turned round to open the door when she spoke to me.

'Why did you put your wrist over my mouth?' the girl asked.

I froze. _Ballocks!_ I thought. How could I answer her question without giving too much away?

I turned round to face the girl.

'I'm sorry, but please… just forget what's happened.'

'You saved my life… who are you?'

I sighed.

'Goodbye.'

I turned round and left the room, closing the door behind me. I was just about to turn left and go down the corridor when I bumped into the nurse from reception.

'There you are,' she said. 'Here, I got you the painkillers but I thought you left.'

'Oh, thank you.'

'Anytime,' said the girl with a big smile.

I slipped the painkillers in my pocket.

'OK, well, bye then.'

The girl waved goodbye at me as I walked off and then stepped out of the hospital. I then rushed over to Mercurio and gave him the pills. He seemed much better after taking a few of them so I left him to recover and made my way to the pier, to get the explosives.

To get to the pier I had to go through the parking garage and turn right, going down two set of stairs that lead to the beach. As I walked along the narrow path and stepped onto the beach I saw a group of people, at least four, around a camp fire. There were three males and one female. The female rushed up to speak me to. She wore black pants, a black top and a dark beige jacket.

'Up there,' she said in a Russian accent, pointing at a set of stairs going up the cliff on the right.

'Excuse me?'

'Those men you are looking for.'

'How did you—'

'Never mind, you wouldn't understand.'

'OK, well, thank you very much.'

The girl smiled back at me.

I went over to the set of stairs and started walking up slowly. As I continued walking up the stairs, I looked over at the pier and saw police cars flashing. There was a large group of police officers on the pier and I was horrified to also find a body hanging from a lamp post, torn up and bleeding all over the floor. I remembered something in the newspaper about a murder at the pier, but I didn't think it was that gruesome. I felt a shiver go down my spine as I looked at the remains of the body spread all over the floor. I took a deep breath and continued walking up the stairs.

When I reached the top of the cliff I saw their small house directly in front of me. It wasn't very large, had a porch and a fence around the front of the house. There was a guy stood by the fence, underneath a lamp post smoking a cigarette. The guy was fairly built and had only a pair of jeans and trainers on. I walked up to the guy and tried to keep a cool head.

'Help ya?' he said.

'I'm here to see Dennis, about the, you know… explosives.'

The guy took another puff out of his cigarette and blew the smoke in my face. I didn't even react to the nicotine surrounding my face.

'All right, you can go on in, just don't do anything stupid or else you and my good friend, Mr. 2x4, are gonna have an interesting chat together.'

'I'll bare that in mind.'

I walked passed the guy and up onto the porch. One of the thugs inside opened the door and directed me in. The inside of the place wasn't exactly clean but it looked better than some of the places I'd seen before. I could see the boss sitting on a sofa in the living room, his feet hung off the table and he had his left arm stretched along the sofa with a cigar in his right hand. The guy was black, had curly black hair, wore black pants, a burgundy shirt and white blazer done up. I also noticed a very beautiful charm he had chain round his neck. I was almost tempted to ask how much it cost if I wasn't here looking for explosives.

'Have a seat,' he said.

I sat down in the chair beside him.

'Care for a cigar?'

'No thanks, I carry my own on me,' I said as I took out my pack of cigarettes, about to light one up.

'Want a drink?'

'No, I'm good.'

He took a final puff out of his cigar and then extinguished it in his ashtray. The Smalltalk had ended at that point.

'So then, down to business, what can I do to help you?'

'I'm here for the explosives.'

Dennis rose an eyebrow.

'You mean the Astrolite?'

'Yeah.'

'Hmm… and what, may I ask, would you need fireworks of that caliber for?'

I gave off a smirk on my face.

'Planning on redecorating a mate's house, you could say.'

Dennis nodded his head with a bit of a smile.

'All right, I'll see what I can do. Question is—'

'How much am I willing to pay?' I said, cutting him off.

'Huh, you're pretty quick. Well since you already know what I was about to ask, see if you can predict… a good price for me?'

I gave another smirk. Then, I gazed deep into his mind and took full control over his mind. I used Discipline to give him an offer I was sure he couldn't refuse.

'How about, you give it to me for free, along with the money you took off of Mercurio. Poor guy's gonna need some knew ribs after what you've done to him.'

Dennis's face was almost emotionless that it was as if he was staring into space. His eyes were wide open and his mouth formed a small O shape. He then shook his head a bit and continued to speak.

'Yeah, yeah… err, sure. Hey Sanchez! Get us the bomb and the money we took off that chump, Mercurio.'

A few minutes later, one of his thugs came into the living room with the bomb in a plastic bag. He handed the bag to Dennis along with an envelope containing Mercurio's money. Dennis passed me the stuff and I looked over it. I counted the money; there was $200 inside it. I then looked inside the bag and inspected the Astrolite. It looked pretty powerful and I was almost terrified to be carrying the bloody thing with me. But now that my business here was done, I just needed to get back to Mercruio and find out what my next objectives were.

'I take it our business here is at an end? If you ever need anymore favors, you just come to me and I'll set you right up.'

'Sure, thanks mate,' I said as I sat up from the sofa, extinguishing my cigarette in the ashtray in front.

**Santa Monica Suites**

**12.05 hrs**

I returned to find Mercurio back on his feet at least. He had changed out of his bloody stained clothes and into a red dressing gown. I'm guessing he had a shower to wash off the rest of the blood. I placed the bag on the table and took a seat on the sofa.

'How'd it go, kid?'

'Good, I got the bomb and here's your money.'

I placed the envelope on the table in front.

'Thanks, you're a lifesaver. I might need to buy some new ribs with this.'

I chuckled a bit.

'Here, let me get you something.'

Mercurio stepped into his kitchen and took out a blood pack from his fridge. He then got two glasses from a cupboard and poured the blood into one of them.

'Here's something to quench that vampire thirst of yours, kid.'

'Thanks.' I took the glass in my hand and had a small sip out of it. 'Not bad. So what's my next move?'

Mercurio poured a bottle of Scotch into the other glass and sat down in a chair next to me. I took out my pack and lit another cigarette. From the dirty look Mercurio was giving me I could see he wasn't a big fan of smoking.

'So what do I have to do now?'

'Well, you need to find a guy who'll get you into the warehouse. His name is Bertram Tung, he's a Nosferatu.'

'Ok, so where do I find him?'

Mercurio gave smirk on his face.

'Oh… there's a catch isn't there?' I said.

'Bertram's lying low cos of Therese, Therese Voerman. Tung's gotten a little paranoid that Therese has a hit out on him so he's outta reach for the time being.'

'OK, then where can I find this Therese?'

'She and her sister, Jeanette, run The Asylum Club down on the other side of Main Street.'

'Then I guess I'll have to convince her to call off this feud with Tung.'

Mercurio took the last sip out of his Scotch.

'Just be careful how you act around her. She's the baron of this city and if you get on her bad side she'll have you put down and shipped outta of here quicker than you can shout "Kindred".'

'I'll keep that in mind.' I finished off the blood, put my cigarette out and then placed the glass on the table. 'Well, I'll be off then.'

I took a few steps away from the sofa.

'Hold up kid… about this little incident with the Astrolite, not a word to the prince. If LaCroix finds out I messed up, he'll make sure to finish what Dennis and his thugs started.'

'No worries mate. You didn't need to tell me,' I said with a smile before I walked out of the door.

**Asylum Nightclub, Santa Monica **

**12.20 hrs**

From the second I walked in I could tell this place was a madhouse. The club was dark, the walls laid out with tiles to look like a hospital and there were some cells designed like real ones with some tables and chairs set up inside. In a corner was a little display of manikins that showed a surgeon, covered head to toe in blood, wielding a surgical knife whilst lying flat on a table, with his guts hanging out was a patient, with a horrifying look on his face that expressed the agony he'd be in if it was real. There was also an upstairs area that over watched the entire ground floor of the club, with a long window that went from left to right of the room and looked out to the street.

I walked over to the bar and leaned back on the counter.

'Get anything for you chief?' asked the barman.

'No, I'm all right,' I replied.

I took out a cigarette and lit it up, taking a puff as I browsed the club. Nearly all of the patrons here were dressed like they belonged in an asylum, or at least needed to see a fucking shrink. I couldn't explain it but I felt like I was being watched. I then turned my head over to the upstairs area and found that my theory was correct. There was a beautiful girl leaning on the railing. She had blonde hair with pigtails and was dressed in a white short sleeved shirt, with the bottom layer of the shirt tied up in a knot, exposing her stomach; she also wore a dark blue skirt with a black belt, white stockings and a pair of black converse shoes. As if her legs were enough to grab your attention, her entire chest was almost poking out I could see her pink bra behind the shirt. She smiled at me; leaning over the ledge to give me a better view of her chest, the girl winked her left eye in a slow, sexy motion to me. I smiled back, just as a guy bumped into me trying to get to the bar. I moved to the side and when I looked back to the girl, she was gone. I was just about to take another puff out of my cigarette when all of a sudden a pale female hand took it from mine and placed it in her mouth. The girl was standing just inches from me on my right, leaning back against the bar. I hadn't even noticed her.

'Hi there,' said the girl. 'I thought I knew everyone in Santa Monica, but you I definitely haven't seen before, kitten. New to town?'

'You could say that.'

'So what brings you to the dark, damned domain that I like to refer to as… my playground?'

Either this girl liked to act the part or she was clearly out of her mind.

'Err… business. Here to find someone.'

'Oh, I'm sure I can entertain you better than Therese probably will.'

'How did you know I was looking for Therese?'

'Put it this way: the second you see her you'll either think you're seeing two of me, or you just can't get me out of that sweet little head of yours.'

Jeanette kept smiling at me as she continued to smoke my cigarette.

'You must be her sister then. Jeanette right?'

'I'm the finger down your spine when all the lights are out, I'm the name on all the men's rooms walls.'

'I'll take that as a yes. I'm guessing you must be the beautiful side of Therese?'

Jeanette giggled.

'I can tell you and I are gonna get along nicely, just like fire hoses.'

'Fire hoses?'

'When we get turned on, there's bound to be flame.'

I took out my pack and lit up another cigarette, since Jeanette clearly wanted to hang on to mind.

'So then… where _is_ your sister?'

'She's upstairs, trying to run a business and at the same time make a show of how well her pants sit on the seat of the Camarilla.'

'OK then. Can I see her?'

Jeanette smirked.

'Do you have an appointment with her majesty, the queen?'

'Well, I tried calling but… I'm sure her darling, sweet sister can help me out. What do you say?'

Jeanette smiled.

'Well since you asked so nice, I might be able to help you out, but I want something in return.'

_This ought to be good_, I thought.

'What?'

'Ohh, I dunno… just a little kiss. See if you're as good as you're making yourself out to be with that sweet, sweet mouth of yours kitten, and I'm hungry for something sweet.'

I was smiling on the inside. I was beginning to assume from the way she was acting that she did this with all the guys who grabbed her attention. I started to think that could melt the hearts of dozens of men with her beauty and, slightly disturbing, charm. Well… I figured I might as well see for myself how good she was.

'OK.'

We put our cigarettes out in an ashtray just on the side of the counter. I wrapped my right hand round her cheek and my left around her waist. Jeanette then moved my hand lower so I was actually feeling her arse. She then wrapped both her arms round my neck and leaned in to my lips. Once our lips made contact I felt an electrical current run down my spine. Our eyes remained closed and the kiss just seemed to last for hours, non-end. But it stopped and Jeanette moved her head back, keeping her arms wrapped around me, she was smiling like a little girl who'd been kissed for the first time again.

'Hmmm, that was very… tasty. Do I make that undead heart of yours beat again? Be honest – or don't.'

I smiled.

'You could say that.'

We then removed our hold from one another.

'So, I passed I take it. Can I see Therese now?'

Jeanette giggled.

'Sure, why not duckling. Follow me.'

I followed Jeanette to a door at the back of club. She unlocked it and there was a lift directly in front of us. After pressing the button the door opened. We stepped inside and Jeanette pressed the button that was marked "hell". After a few moments we arrived at the third floor and in front there was a door. Jeanette walked up to it and placed her hand on the door knob, turning her head round to face me. 'Here we are kitten.' She opened the door and there, sat at her desk writing, was Therese Voerman. Jeneatte wasn't wrong when she said I'd be seeing two of her. Therese had the same hair colour, though hers was done up in a bun, she wore black spectacles and a black business suit, with no bra underneath as far as I could tell.

'Oh dear sister… we have a guest,' said Jeanette.

Therese looked up and stopped writing. I walked up to the desk with Jeanette and stood beside her.

'I see,' Therese rose to shake my hand. 'I am Therese Voerman, proprietor of this club. What brings you here?'

'I'm looking for a Nosferatu called Bertram Tung, but apparently he's in hiding so I need you to call off the feud.'

I noticed Jeanette took great interest the moment I mentioned Tung's name.

'Tung's exile is self-imposed I assure you, but then again why would I trust that lonesome Nosferatu when clearly, he's been trying to gain power over this city for so many years.'

'Miss. Voerman, I don't mean to get involved in your differences, but I need his help to complete a mission handed to me by the prince.'

'The Prince? Well, that makes a difference – however if you want me to call it off, I'll need something in return.'

_Not another kiss_, I thought. Therese then sat up from her chair and walked over to a file cabinet just in the corner, on her right. She opened the cabinet and took out a brown folder, resting it on the desk directly in front of me. I picked up the folder and opened the file, browsing through it.

'A necklace?' I said.

I noticed there was something oddly familiar about this necklace, but I couldn't remember where I'd seen it.

'Yes, a necklace. It once belonged to a very dear friend but was stolen by her lover. I'd like to have it so I can return it to its proper owner.'

'But there's a catch… isn't there?'

'Ohh, he's very sharp,' said Jeanette, leaning on the side of Therese's desk.

'Apparently it's gotten in the hands of some street thugs that plan on selling it. I need you to get it off them and return it to me.'

'And where can I find these thugs?'

'The guy calling the shots is named Dennis,' said Jeanette. 'He and his little group of bad boys—'

'Live out beside the beach?'

I remembered the charm chained round his neck when I went to get the Astrolite. I knew this wasn't going to be easy, unless I had something to offer him.

'I take it you know him?' Therese asked.

'You could say that. The only way I'm gonna be able to get that necklace off him is over his dead body.'

'Which I'm sure you can arrange,' Therese added. 'Frankly… I would much prefer he was removed from my city. These passed few nights him and his posse have been showing up at my club, getting drunk and harassing the clientele. I would much rather see that put to an end.'

'OK, then I'll just head over to his house and tear the lot of them up.'

Therese smiled just before she opened a drawer on her right and took out a pistol. It was a Glock 17 handgun. She also took out two extra magazines for it.

'Here, just in case you need to use other means of taking care of them.'

I took the pistol, emptied the magazine and checked the chamber. I loaded the gun and then placed it in my back waistband. I picked up the two magazines and slipped them into my blazer pocket on the left.

'I'll be off then.'

I left the two sisters to themselves and closed the door behind me. Taking the lift back down to the ground floor I walked out the door I walked out through the main entrance of the club and started making my way back to the beach. In my mind though, I could tell this time wasn't going to be as easy as before.

**Beach house**

**12.39 hrs**

From the moment I approached the beach house at the top of the stairs, I could hear the sound of Dennis screaming his lungs off at someone in the house. The same shirtless guy was still guarding the house by the gate. I walked up to him.

'Hey again, what's wrong with Dennis?' I asked.

The guy was lightening up another cigarette.

'Dennis's busting some poor schmuck's balls for not paying his monthly due. Not a pretty thing to get involved in.'

'Well I need to see Dennis.'

'Sorry, but when Dennis is busy force-feeding a guy his own balls, last thing you wanna do is interrupt – unless you fancy joining the guy.'

I used Discipline to persuade the guy to let me in. He then let me through and I walked in through the main door. The second I entered the house I saw Dennis holding a butcher knife in his right hand. There was a young bloke sat on the sofa with both his arms and legs spread out by four thugs. As soon as Dennis saw me, I could see in his face a horrifying angry look. His eyes were burning with hate and I swore I saw a glowing red in them. Something was wrong and it wasn't just because this guy had serious anger issues.

'What the fuck do you want!?' Dennis snarled in a terrifying tone.

'To talk, if you don't mind.'

'Huh, is that so? WELL TOUGH SHIT! So fuck off!'

'Please! Oh please, dear god, help me!' cried the man on the sofa.

The guy was trembling in fear so much, not only was his face covered in sweat but I noticed he'd even pissed his pants not long ago. Clearly Dennis planned to do more than scare the shite out of this bloke; I think he actually planned on cutting off the guy's testicles.

'Hey, you don't plan on actually hurting this guy, do you?' I asked.

Dennis laughed devilishly.

'What do you think? This sorry excuse for a man needs to learn to pay his due, or else this happens.'

'OK! OK! I'll pay, just please let me go!' cried the man.

'Too late for that! Time to pay the price.'

I noticed something odd about the charm. Every time he got more violent or angry, it glowed a bright white. _Is that necklace making him act this way?_ I wondered. It had to be. Clearly this is why Therese wanted it, it made people dangerously violent. Dennis waved the knife high in the air, about to pierce it into his groan. I couldn't let that happen and I wasn't just going to stand here and watch.

I pulled out the pistol and put a bullet in Dennis's head. His body collapsed to the floor, instantly making contact like a bag of bricks. The knife fell out of his hand and landed beside the corpse. The thugs then released their hold of the man, reaching for their pockets. I aimed the gun at them and shot all four in the head, dropping them in a matter of seconds. Just then, I heard the main door open and when I turned round, I saw the shirtless guy standing in the doorway, only armed with a baseball bat. He analyzed the bodies, seeing each one with a perfect shot to the head. I could tell he was wondering to himself what chance he stood armed with only a bat. He then dropped the bat to the floor and fell to his knees, pleading for mercy with his hands held up.

'Please! C'mon man, I've been easy with you this whole time! Please don't kill me,' he begged.

I walked over to the man, keeping the gun aimed directly at his forehead. I could see the irony in it all: a big man who had once acted so tough, threatening to use a plan of wood to kick my teeth in was now begging for mercy like a spineless coward. What was I going to do? Kill him? I turned my head back to the guy on the sofa. He sat with a terrified look on his face, breathing constantly as he tried to catch his breath. I don't think he cared if I killed the guy or not… he just wanted to get the fuck out of here – I couldn't blame him.

I turned to face the shirtless guy again.

'What's your name?' I asked.

'Brian… it's, it's Brian.'

Brian's face was on the verge of going pure white as the barrel of the gun was only inches from his forehead.

'You're not going to tell anyone about this if I let you go, are you?'

'N, no… I, I promise I won't.'

I was very good at reading people when they were lying, and Brian clearly wasn't lying. He would probably kiss my feet begging for mercy if it meant sparing his life. But then I thought about the Masquerade. If I let him go, would I be violating it? I hadn't displayed any vampiric or supernatural abilities, other than putting a bullet in all five of these guys in less than five seconds – but that was only because of my experience with firearms. As long as I made sure Brian and the other guy kept their mouth shut, they'd be free to go.

'OK, get out of here,' I said, lowering the pistol and slipping it in my waistband. 'If I ever see or hear your presence in LA again, I'll make sure you join the rest of your friends here.'

'OK, OK, I promise I won't! Thank you!' Brian said in joy.

'Now get up and get the fuck out of here.'

Brian instantly stood from his knees and ran for the door. He burst through it and didn't look back as he ran to the stairs. I turned my head to the man on the sofa and walked up to him.

'You OK mate?' I asked lending my hand out.

I then help the man onto his feet.

'Yeah… yeah, I'm fine.'

'How exactly did you get involved with these types of people?'

The man huffed.

'Aw man, that's a long story.'

I took out my pack and lit up a cigarette. I then offered the guy one.

'Smoke?'

'Yeah, thanks.'

He took one and I pressed on the lighter. The man leaned forward and lit the end of the cigarette.

'So what's your story then mate? What's your name?'

'I'm Knox.'

'Derek,' I said offering my hand to shake.

'Hey listen man, thanks for saving my butt, I really appreciate it. If you ever need anything, just come and find me, I'll set you up, OK?'

I shook his hand in agreement and went over to Dennis's dead body. I plucked the necklace from him and slipped it in my pocket. Before leaving the place I took the fuel tank from the back of their car and covered the entire house in petrol. I took one last puff of my cigarette and then flicked it into the house. In a matter of moments the house was burning up in flames. With all the drugs and alchoal that was lying around the place, it wasn't going to take very long for the flames to spread. I kept my distance from the house, to avoid any flames from turning me into a vampire-kebab.

I took out the necklace out from my pocket and analyzed it. It was truly a beautiful gift to give to someone. I could see why Therese wanted it from the dead friend. However, I could feel something under my thumb at the back of the necklace. It was writing: _To my true love, Pisha_. I slipped it back in my pocket and started walking down the stairs and made my way back to the club. When I got there though, I had just walked out of the elevator and was about to knock on Therese's office door, when I heard shouting coming from within the room. I could hear Jeanette shouting the loudest and Therese responding in her cold, sharp tone.

'You told me you didn't love her anymore!' cried Jeanette. 'So why ask him to bring it back to you?!'

There was a pause between them after Jeanette said that.

NOTE: to the people that are enjoying my stories, I will update and keep writing for my fans as regularly as I can, but they might take me time so hang in there people.


	3. Chapter 3

**(Sorry for the delay guys, but better late than never)**

This story is my own creative version and storyline for the game "Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines" using a main character of my own idea. Note: I have made slight changes to some of the recognized game characters in the story.

**Night 1**

**Asylum Nightclub, Santa Monica **

**12.55 hrs**

I listened in on what the twins were arguing about from behind the office door. Jeanette was clearly against Therese's request that I retrieve the charm, and from the way she ranted about "_didn't love her anymore_", I'm guessing the argument was to do with this Pisha, whose name is inscribed on the back of the charm.

The two kept on arguing – Jeanette being the loudest while Therese, I assumed, kept her cool and remained quiet.

'100 years and you still aren't over her!' Jeanette cried.

'I told you before, dear sister, that I merely want back what I gave to her. I haven't heard from her in all that time, and the mere fact that her charm ended up in the hands of some lowlifes, leaves me to assume she is dead.'

Jeanette huffed.

'Or she grew tired of waiting for her lover and decided to give to the first street beggar she saw.'

There was a pause between the two. Therese eventually broke the silence with a sigh.

'Please, just end it, Jeanette,' said Therese, her tone more saddened. 'The two of us fell apart centuries ago… I just want what was mine.'

Another pause fell between them. After a while I heard nothing so I figured they'd ended their quarrel. I took a deep breath knocked on their door. Therese responded: 'come in.' When I entered the room, Jeanette was stood beside Therese on her left, facing the other way with her arms folded. Even when I announced my presence Jeanette still didn't turn to face me. _Wow… she's pretty pissed off_.

'I got it, and as you requested I took care of Dennis and his lot.'

'Excellent. I'll take that.'

Therese held out her hand and I handed her the charm. She analyzed it for a moment, admiring its beauty. But behind that admiration I could also see a hit of sadness as she held the thing. Therese placed it inside the left inner pocket of her jacket and then turned up to face me, giving a sly smile on her face.

'You have no idea how important this item is to me,' she said.

'I can imagine,' I murmured.

I noticed Jeanette had turned her head right just a bit, to face me, with a sad look on her face. When I made eye contact with her she then slowly turned her head back and continued to face the other end of the room.

'Well then, for your time here's a small payment.'

Therese took out a brown envelope, filled with $50, from her right drawer and handed it to me.

'Thanks,' I replied, placing the envelope in my pocket. 'Now as for the agreement we made, I want to know Tong's whereabouts?'

'Ah, yes, of course. Jeanette, would you mind taking our dear friend here to Tong's refuge?'

Jeanette turned again to face me and walked towards the door, keeping her arms folded as she passed me.

'C'mon kitten, let's leave her royal highness to dwell on her, not-so-innocent past,' Jeanette said as she slipped into her brown coat.

Therese just stared at Jeanette and then turned her eyes to me. I shrugged and soon followed Jeanette out of the room. The expression on Therese's face was indeed shallow and full of sadness. It was clear that the cold, ruthless and cunning side of her I encountered before had melted. Whatever occurred between this Pisha and Therese must have been very serious if it's brought Therese to her knees in sadness. It was best that Jeanette and I were leaving Therese to her thoughts. I promised myself I'd come back and visit once this warehouse business was settled.

We entered the lift and Jeanette pressed the button. I suddenly felt woozy and faint; I put my left hand to my head and right hand on the rail to keep myself standing. I was on the verge of falling when Jeanette quickly embraced me and straightened my body against hers.

'Aw, kitten, you look thirsty,' Jeanette said with a smirk. 'When was the last time you had your milk?'

I chuckled.

'Too long ago.'

'Then we'll just have to refill your bowl, and I know just the right place.'

I smirked as I knew exactly the place Jeanette was referring to.

**Blood Bank, Hospital **

**1.15 hrs**

Just when I thought the Asylum was eerie and depressing, the bottom basement of this hospital where the Blood Bank ran was just as chilling. Jeanette and I walked over to the reception where a man, stationed in the small room, was sat in a chair with his legs on the desk reading a magazine. The man was young, possibly middle to late twenties, with light brown hair that went down to his shoulders and blue eyes. There was a small frame on the wall with his picture and name: Vandal, stating _Employee of the Month_.

At first he didn't notice us until Jeanette cleared her throat, getting his attention. Vandal slowly turned his head up. The second he saw Jeanette he jumped from his seat, the magazine flying in the air onto the floor, he then sat straight and tried to act presentable.

'G-good evening Miss. Voerman, what may I do for you?'

I could see that this man was absolutely terrified of Jeanette. She stood with her hands to her hips and a dead serious look on her face.

'Been taking a break, Vandal?'

'N-no.'

'You know, my darling sister didn't make you employee of the month, just so you could… slack off.'

'B-b-business has been slow, Miss. Voerman,' he gave a nervous chuckle.

'Very well, I'll give you something to do. My darling friend here needs a top-up. Think you can handle that?'

'O-of course, j-just give me a second.'

Vandal stood up from his seat and opened the door behind him. A moment later the door on our left leading inside the bank was unlocked. I followed Jeanette inside and then Vandal led us to a room just down the corridor. Inside the room were three large freezers, all in a row to our left. He opened the middle freezer and went inside, returning with a blue blood pack in his left hand.

'Here you go, Miss. Voerman.'

Vandal handed the pack over to Jeanette.

'Here you are Kitten, enjoy.' Jeanette gave me the pack. 'You may leave now, Vandal.'

'Thank you, Miss. Voerman, and please tell Queen Bitch I have been of great use to you.'

_Queen Bitch?_

'I will tell my sister. That'll be all.'

_Figured it was Therese_. With an uptight attitude like hers, the term "Bitch" would pass around frequently.

Vandal gave a small bow and left the freezer room, returning to his office. I ripped off the edge of the pack and began drinking from it. As I felt the blood course down my throat I could feel all the strength in my body returning to me. Jeanette leaned against the wall with her hands to her back and smirk on her face. She kept eyeing me as I drank every last drop. When I finished I took a deep breath, allowing the blood to fully regain all my energy. I looked over at Jeanette and she started approaching me. Then, without warning, she forced her mouth onto mine and shoved her tongue inside. I could feel she was trying to get some of the blood for herself. She wrapped both her arms round me and I wrapped mine round her small little waist. Then, from trying to extract blood at least it turned into a normal kiss. I cupped her chin and pulled back a bit, gazing into her lifeless eyes; I then leaned forward again and gave her a kiss of my own. Jeanette then wrapped her arms round my neck, trying to keep me in place, stopping me from any attempts to leave her hold.

When the kiss finished she moved her head back but remained as close to me as she could.

'Hmm… that tasted better than drinking it from the pack, duckling.'

I smiled.

'Glad you enjoyed it.'

I took a step back and waited for Jeanette to start walking. We walked out the door but Janette then stopped outside of Vandal's office.

'I want you to give a discount on my friend here whenever he comes to purchase blood. Unless, you want me to inform my sister you were slacking off.'

'O-of course, Miss. Voerman, I'll give him a half-price discount whenever he comes,' Vandal gave off another nervous chuckle.

'Good. C'mon then kitten, let's go.'

As Jeanette walked off, I waited a moment and turned my head to Vandal.

'Thanks for the blood, mate.'

I then walked off and followed Jeanette up the stairs to the ground floor of the hospital.

I scanned the inside of the abandoned oil tank and there was no sign of Bertram Tung. Clearly this was his hideout since there was a mattress, a lamp, a small television and a computer set up on a box. Jeanette stood by the large hole in the tank with her arms folded, leaning against the wall. I walked over and stood in the centre of the tank. He wasn't here.

'Guess he's not home,' I said to Jeanette.

She just smirked back.

'Looking for someone?' said a rough voice, coming from behind me.

I turned but there was no one there.

'Bertram,' said Jeanette. 'This is Derek, the kid LaCroix sent to deal with that whole warehouse business.'

_Great, he's invisible_.

'I know,' said Bertram. 'I've heard a lot about him, even had a run-in with my ghoul. Thanks for saving his neck, kid.'

'You mean Knox? He's a ghoul?'

'Yep. Kid might be a bit rough round the edges, but he knows how to get things done for me, when I need him to.'

'OK, so since we're here to do business, why don't we do it face-to-face?'

Bertram gave a sinister chuckle.

'You sure, kid? My face might just give you nightmares for the rest of your undead life. Think you can handle that?'

I turned over to face Jeanette. She remained as she was, with that same smirk covering her face.

'All right, just come out here, I haven't got all night.'

'Suit yourself.'

Bertram then became visible but appeared right beside Jeanette. He stood with his right hand against the wall and his left hand to his hip. His appearance was incredibly vile and I almost found it unbearable to look at him. But in my past I'd seen worse before.

'Hello sugar, been a while,' he said to Jeanette. 'I was wondering when you were gonna stop by again.'

'Hmm, I didn't know you'd miss me. I thought my sister had done a good job of… putting you off me?'

'She could never put me off you, cupcake.'

Jeanette smiled and gave a kiss to Bertram. The thought that she had probably kissed him before almost made my stomach turn, but I had more important things to focus on right now.

'Bertram,' I said. 'I need your help getting to the warehouse; Mercurio said you could get me in there.'

'Yes I can. You got the explosives?

'Yeah, it's Mercurio's apartment.'

'Good, I'll wait here until you get the explosives. The warehouse is gonna be heavily guarded, so if you're thinking of stocking up on any supplies, I'd do it right now.'

'Fair enough,' I said.

'In the mean time, Jeanette and I are gonna catch up on old times. I suggest running along and getting the Astrolite.'

_With pleasure_. The sooner I got out of here the less likely I'd find myself throwing up that blood I had in the bank.

I took a slow walk back to Mercurio's apartment, trying to take as much time as possible so I didn't have to walk in on them. The thought just made me sick, but I suppose I should feel grateful for him. With those looks, I doubt any other girl would go near the poor bastard, let alone touch him with a 10m stick. I took out a cigarette and lit it up.

When I reached the apartment I found no sign of Mercurio. I looked around but he was nowhere to be seen. There was a note he left on the kitchen table, beside a used glass and half-empty bottle of Scotch.

_Gone to visit the Prince on some urgent business. I left the Astrolite in my room in a duffel bag for you. Good luck kid. Mercurio_

I placed the note back down on the table and headed straight for his room, finding the black duffel bag sat on his bed. I took a look inside; just to make sure it was in good condition. The thing looked OK so I zipped the bag up and placed it round my right shoulder. I walked out of the apartment and locked the door behind me, making my way back to Bertram's hideout. I just prayed he had finished with Jeanette.

When I returned I found him lying on his mattress, alone, smoking a cigarette. Jeanette had gone but she'd left a big grin on his face that all his sharp teeth were showing. I tried not to imagine what went on here so I gently dropped the bag to the floor and went over to him.

'Had fun?' I said.

Bertram took another puff of his cigarette before replying.

'Kid, ask yourself: do you really trust the prince?'

'Can't say I trust anyone at this point. Still too early to tell who's my enemy and who's my ally.'

Bertram chuckled. I took a seat on a crate just next to his bed and lit up another cigarette. I figured I might as well join him in the afterglow.

'Well, hopefully when the time comes you'll make the right decision about who's side you're really on. You've got a lot of potential kid; it'll be a shame to see you go down with the rest of _LaCroix's_ pack.'

I sighed. Where was he going with all this? Clearly he was trying to tell me not to side with the prince. But if the prince wasn't the right option… then who was?

'I'll just have to find out, won't I?'

There was a pause between the two of us. Bertram just took another puff of his cigarette.

'Anyways, I've got the Astrolite. So when do we leave?'

'Whenever you're ready kid. Just say the word.'

I gave a half smile and then put out my cigarette.

**Sabbat Warehouse **

**2.00 hrs**

Ahead of me, beyond the train yard was the warehouse. There were a few roaming guards beyond that – more than how many I had to take out just to get this far. Bertram had been right though about the Sabbat using humans as their workers. They were mostly armed with shotguns and only a few seemed to be armed with lighter weapons: pistols and knives. I managed to get my hand on some more mags for my Glock, just in case I needed to shoot my way out. Personally, I wasn't too keen on doing that.

I kept as low as I could, hidden behind a crate, as I waited for a guard on my left to turn right and go the other way. He turned round and started walking the other way. I got up, keeping low and kept close to the train to avoid him spotting me. I poked my head out a bit and then headed the other way, to the left side of the warehouse. There wasn't really anyone roaming around that area, but I wasn't going to risk running around and getting any unnecessary attention. Good thing too because as I got closer to the warehouse, there was a guard, armed only with a pistol, walking down a platform in-between a train and the left wall of the building. There was a fuse box he passed which seemed to be for the lights inside the warehouse. _I might be able to use that to my advantage_, I thought. The guard had a radio and I could hear some of the other guards talking to him over it.

'_Hey, everything all clear on the West side of the Warehouse?_'

'Yeah, it's all clear here,' said the guard.

'_Good, cos if anything goes wrong the boss is gonna have our asses for it_,' said the guard over the radio.

'Yeah, yeah, I know. I'll finish my rounds.'

'_Copy that_.'

The guard switched off his radio and then took out a pack of cigarettes.

'Right after a quick cigarette break.'

He then started walking down the other end of the platform. If his radio was off he wouldn't notice anyone complaining about the lights, which would make my job a whole lot easier for me. I approached the fuse box and looked for the ones that lit up the inside of the warehouse. There were at least three little fuses plugged in to the box that I needed to remove: two for a different section of the warehouse and the other for the office inside. That's where I needed to plant the bomb and most likely that was going to be guarded. Lucky for me though, I could see in the dark, giving me a better advantage over these guys. I pulled the fuses out carefully, trying not to make any noise whilst doing so. Once the lights were off I threw them under the train and headed for a ladder just down the platform that went up to the top of the warehouse.

The guard was still smoking his cigarette and his radio was still switched off. I climbed the ladder and stopped at the top, poking my head out, making sure the area was clear. There was no one around and I could see why, this ladder led to an attic of some kind that was just filled with dust and old rotten crates, all of them long forgotten. I took out my pistol and tried to walk as carefully as possible. God only knows how creaky or unstable the floorboards were, and I really didn't want to risk falling through the floor and landing in the middle of some Sabbat. However, I could hear shouting coming from a vent just on my left. I walked over and peeked through the gaps in the vent. Beneath me was the offices that I needed to plant the bomb in, but it was filled with people, at least six in total. Two of those six were Sabbat, and one of them was clearly doing all the shouting.

'What do you mean you can't work until you get the lights back on?!' a Sabbat member snarled at one of the thugs.

'Look man, all I'm saying is the lights are out and people are having a hard time moving shit around.'

'SO!' cried the Sabbat.

The thug looked incredibly shit scared at this point.

'So… unless you help us out, maybe we can get things done quicker – I mean you guys can see in the dark, right?'

The Sabbat gave a sinister smirk, his fangs were showing and that really put the thug on edge. He then approached the man, walking round him slowly. By this point the guy was sweating buckets. I think he knew what was coming, and it sure as hell didn't look good.

'You can't work cos you are afraid of the dark, so you want us to do all the work, is that it?'

'No! No, that's not it.'

'I mean, you Humans are so fragile, silly me for making the mistake of hiring thugs that think just because we have can see, we can do all the work ourselves.'

'I swear, that's not what I meant.'

'Sure, we could but then why would we have hired you. I guess we wasted our time.'

'Look man, I'm sorry!'

In an instant the Sabbat's ran passed the guy's neck at great speed, a few seconds later his entire throat was bleeding. There was blood dripping from the Sabbats's long, sharp nails. The thug grabbed his throat with both hands but then fell down to the floor, bleeding to death. Everyone else just kept quiet and faced anywhere but the guy on the floor or the Sabbat.

'Apology accepted,' said the Sabbat before sticking his nail in his mouth and tasting the guy's blood.

_Fucking nasty_. It shows the Sabbat are merciless arseholes that take pleasure in killing people.

'Anyone else have any objections?'

The rest all waved their heads.

'Good. Now get the FUCK back to work!' he snarled.

Moments later the crowd scattered and got back to their duties. I used the Auspex Discipline to see if there was anyone else still within the office. There were just three: one sat at a desk trying to look over some papers, the other two working on some computers. The lights were still switched off and it was unlikely they were going to see me. I just had to be careful about them hearing me.

I opened up the vent quietly and carefully snuck into the office, crouching as soon as I made contact with the floor to reduce any noise. They hadn't heard me so things were looking good so far. I just needed to place the bomb somewhere out of plain sight, in case the lights returned and they found it.

'Damn, I can't see a fucking thing in this darkness,' said the guy at the desk. 'You guys are lucky you've got the computer lights over there.'

'Heh! wanna switch?' said one of the guys on the computer.

'Fuck that! I wouldn't know how to work the goddamn thing.'

'That's what happens when you drop out of school, Bill.'

The two chuckled.

'Yeah, yeah, fuck you guys too,' said Bill, giving them the finger in the darkness.

So the Sabbat is mostly keen in hiring drop-outs with no education or future to do their dirty work. I thought back to my school days in university, and was glad I finished my education back in Kingston. The last thing I wanted to do was end up like these twats with no future, selling off my soul only to be treated like crap by my superiors. What a miserable life I'm sure these guys all lived.

There was a metal cupboard just near the two guys on the computer, perfect place to plant the bomb. Thankfully, the lights coming from the monitors weren't bright enough to illuminate the room, so I still had the cover of darkness at my side. I snuck over to the cupboard and opened it making as little noise, if none, as possible. There wasn't much inside, other than a few files, a couple of boxes and other long forgotten shite that had rotted away, along with the cupboard. _OK, down to business_. I removed the duffel bag from my shoulder, placed it down on the floor and opened the zip very slowly. As soon as the bag was open, I took out the Astrolite and set it up in the cupboard. Once the bomb was in place I set the timer. It was going to take me at least five minutes, if not more to get out of here, so I set it to detonate in seven minutes. If I managed to get out well before the timer hit zero, then I could sit back and watch the fireworks. I gave off a very grim smile to myself.

The bomb was set and the timer had started its countdown. I also set my watch to count up to seven so I knew how long I had left. All that I needed to do was get the fuck out of here and quick, before its seven minutes were up. I placed the duffel bag round my shoulder and slowly walked over to the office door. There wasn't anyone standing behind it so I had a clear path ahead of me. However, below the offices on the ground floor were dozens of thugs armed with pistols, shotguns and all kinds of weapons. These guys really meant business if they were armed to the teeth. I walked down the stairs with my pistol close by, incase the lights got sorted and I needed to start a shootout.

One of the guards by the entrance took out his radio.

'Hey Mack, you get these fucking lights sorted yet?'

'_Not yet, keep your panties on_.'

'Well get them sorted, the boss has already made a fucking mess outta Jason up in the office.'

'_Jason's dead? Ah fuck…_'

'Yeah, so unless you wanna join him, get it done!'

'_I'm_ _on it. Fuck_!'

Seems everyone was still riled up about the problem with the lights. I just prayed the guy didn't find the fuses and put them back into place before I could get out. If he did and they caught me, then I better hope the guys with shotguns have bad aim.

I stopped for a moment and waited for the guard to move away from the entrance. At least with the light protruding from the outside, I didn't have to use Auspex to see if there was any ahead of me. It was just outside I needed to be wary of. After a few moments the guard walked away from the entrance and further into the warehouse. Now was my chance. I just had to be careful.

Just then, the light returned. A guard to my left who had just turned his head in my direction spotted me.

'Hey!' he cried aiming his shotgun at me.

'We've got an intruder!' cried one of the other guards over his radio.

In a matter of seconds there were armed guards surrounding me, aiming their weapons at me. _Ah shite!_ How do I get out of this?

'Don't fucking move, buddy!' said a guard, approaching me with his shotgun aimed directly at me. 'Put your hands up.'

I put my hands up and looked around. What could I do, shoot my way out? It seemed pretty risky and I wasn't keen to have shotguns fired at me, but time was running out. I looked at my watch, four minutes had already passed. There had to be something I could do, but what? Then I saw it. Just in front of me was a small canister of petrol behind the crowed. If I shot it then it would give me some time to run out of here and get as far away from the warehouse as possible, before it went up in flames. I had to do this right.

'All right, Murphy, go search him.'

'Got it.'

Now was my chance. As soon as Murphy was in front of my I grabbed his pistol arm with my left, swung it to the side turning him round and pulled out my pistol, aiming directly at the tank and putting a bullet through it. The tank exploded and the crowed was thrown forward by the blast. I then knocked out Murphy with my pistol and ran out the entrance, heading straight for the train yard. Now there were guys on both sides firing at me. Not exactly how I hoped to make my getaway but in a few moments it wouldn't matter. There was just a minute and a half left so I had to really make a dash for it.

I squeezed between two trains and instantly ran into two roaming guards on my right. They aimed their pistols at me but I fired two shots at them and they dropped to the floor. I then continued running and made my way towards the train station I came through. To avoid the blast range I had to take cover inside the station, and quick.

I just managed to grab the door handle when the bomb went off and next thing I knew, my body was thrown forward breaking the doors open. At least I was still alive, that was for sure. It was more than I could say about any of the guys that were near that warehouse. I blacked out for a few moments and when I started opening my eyes, I swore I could see a big white wolf through my blurry vision. One minute it was sat in front of me, I blinked and the next thing I knew there was a man in a long brown jacket, carrying a bag with long black hair, wearing sunglasses and had cat-like red eyes with crescent shaped pupils that glow faintly.

'Need some help,' said the man in a polite tone, offering his hand out.

I leant my hand out and he helped me back onto my feet.

'The warehouse… your handiwork I presume?'

'Yeah, you could say that.'

'Well, hopefully no Sabbat saw you escape. Unlike those pitiful Humans they hire, they can be somewhat… antagonistic.'

'Fair enough. And who are you?'

The man smiled.

'I see my reputation, for once, does not proceed me. My name is Beckett.'

I leant my hand out to shake.

'Derek Williams.'

'I know who you are. I've been… keeping my eye on you since that little incident on the beach house. Very nice way to handle a situation, that is if you don't mind getting the attention of the local media.'

I snorted.

'Figured I might as well leave nothing behind to identify.'

'At least that Human you let free won't go blabbing his mouth of to the police. I believe the Prince already saw to that.'

I cringed at the thought. _Argh… poor Brian_.

'So, I take it your mission here is complete, and you'll be returning to the Prince… right after you visit Bertram and explain to him the details of the situation.'

'OK. You going to join me or have you got other things to do?'

'Well, it's been, oh I don't know, twenty years since I last saw Bertram Tong. I suppose there's no harm in a social visit.'

'All right then.'

We started walking towards down the way I took to get here. It was a bit of a long walk but it gave Beckett enough time to properly introduce himself. In the mean time… I really needed a cigarette to calm my nervous from that explosion.

**Bertram's hideout, Santa Monica**

**3.36 hrs**

Since Beckett and I arrived, Bertram and he had been catching up on the twenty or so years that they'd last seen each other. From the way they spoke it was clear they were old friends, but you'd think someone has well-educated and well-mannered as Beckett wouldn't even think of being as close with a sarcastic and very mischief individual as Bertram. Nevertheless, they were getting on well.

I sat on the same crate I did before, smoking my third cigarette since we left the warehouse. The duffel bag I threw away not long ago. My hands just kept shaking from the blast. God, it's been so long since the last time I witnessed an explosion as big as that. Funny enough, the trauma of it still hasn't left me even after all these years. But that was an old part of my life I was longing to forget. As much as I didn't want to admit it, maybe living this new undead life would help to clear my mind of all those things. I just hoped I wouldn't meet my end at the same time.

'Kid, you OK?' Bertram asked. I turned my head up to face him. 'You've been quiet ever since you and Beckett arrived.'

'I'm fine.'

'Are you sure,' asked Beckett.

'I'm sure. I just want to get this whole thing over and done with.'

'All right, well you better report to the Prince. If I felt that explosion a mile away, mostly like he did too, and he's gonna wanna hear all about it from you.'

_Heh!_ _You felt it, I was literally caught in it_.

'Fair enough.'

I extinguished my cigarette and sat up from the crate. Just then, Mercurio entered the tank. From the big grin on his face, clearly he'd heard of the explosion already.

'What I tell ya, kid. When that Astrolite goes off you really wanna be on the other side of the world.'

'Heard about it already, Mercuruo?' Bertram asked.

'It's all over the news! Whole fucking warehouse and everything around it's been blown to shreds. Trains scattered everywhere, rubble and dust filling the place up. Jesus… glad it wasn't me that had to do that job, eh kid?'

I frowned and kept quiet.

'So what's the news on the Prince, anything odd since your visit with him?' asked Beckett.

'Price is riled up about something else, something big. I have a strong feeling it's gonna involve you, kid.'

'Just great. I've become his errand boy now. Well… better report to him.'

I was about to walk through the hole in the tank when Bertam called me.

'Kid, remember what I said… don't go down like the rest of LaCroix's pack.'

'Thanks. I'll remember that.'

I left the tank and walked along the street for a bit. As I passed the Asylum Nightclub, I remembered promising to go visit Therese after my job at the warehouse was done. I figured now was the best time to check in on her. Maybe she'll even help get the whole mess off my mind for a bit. So I entered the club and took the lift up to her office. When I came out the lift I saw her office door had been left wide open, there was also the faint sound of someone sobbing. Just who I wondered?

I poked my head in and I noticed Therese sat on the edge of her bed, alone, facing down with a tissue in her right hand and the charm in her left. I could already imagine what had happened here, all it took was Jeanette not being here to indicate they'd probably had another argument. I sighed and walked over to her, sitting beside her on her right. She turned to face me and I could see the mascara dripping from her eyes through her tears. I wrapped my left arm round her shoulder and she instantly leaned in to hug me, wrapping both arms round me. I then wrapped my other arm round her and rubbed her back a bit to calm her down.

'I take it you know why I'm like this, Derek?' said Therese. 'It doesn't take much of an explanation to know why one is completely distraught, especially when it's their own fault.'

'No, don't say that, Therese. It's not your fault.'

'Yes it is. _Sniff_.' Therese removed her hold of me and adjusted her glasses. 'Jeanette and I had another fight – that much is obvious.'

'This is about Pisha… isn't it?'

Therese looked at me, unsurprised that I knew about the woman's name, since I would've seen it anyways on the charm. She then looked down at it in her hand.

'I suppose you've figured it out already that I was once a lesbian, and I had a wonderful relationship with this woman… but that was so many years ago. I changed my interest to men in order to forget about her, but…'

'You couldn't forget, could you?'

Therese waved her head, sniffing once more into her tissue.

'Where is Jeanette?'

As soon as I asked her that question, Therese looked at me with the saddest look in her eyes; more tears were beginning to pour down from them.

'She's run away, Derek… that's why it's all my fault.'

I looked down to the floor and sighed. _Aw shite_.

NOTE: Hope you guys are enjoying my stories and feel free to send feedback on what you think of them, in case there's anything you want me to improve or add.


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